A late header from Roberto Firmino saw Liverpool FC beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night.
The victory means Liverpool go three points clear at the top of the Premier League, overtaking tonight’s opponents who were top on goal difference before the match. This result extends Liverpool’s unbeaten run at home to 66 matches.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said after the match: “Overall I thought the performance was outstanding.
“I thought we dominated for large periods with the ball, created some good chances and never, never stopped, [we] kept going right until the end and got the winner which I think we deserved.”
Before the match, two thousand supporters filled the Kop with a minute’s applause to remember their former manager Gerard Houllier who died on Monday, December 14.
Reds dominated early exchanges
In a dominant first half, Liverpool opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a Mohamed Salah goal. A deflected shot that looped over the keeper, Hugo Lloris, giving the Egyptian his 14th goal of the season and his 6th in nine appearances against Spurs.
Against the run of play, in the 33rd minute, Heung-Min Son equalised for Tottenham.
The goal was reviewed for a possible offside; however, VAR ruled Son was marginally onside and the goal was allowed to stand.
Tottenham revival fell short
The second half saw Tottenham come more into the game although the Reds were still able to dominate play with 76 per cent possession.
With a stalemate looking likely, Liverpool finally broke the deadlock in the 90th minute.
From a corner, Andrew Robertson delivered the ball onto the head of Firmino who powered a header home to take the lead.
The two teams had contrasting strategies: Liverpool engaged in their usual fast-paced, high pressing game whereas Spurs sat back and played on the counter-attack.
Tottenham manager José Mourinho insisted “the better team lost” and thought they had the better chances in the match.
“Of course, the result is the most important thing, and the result is awful. But the way the team performed, I’m happy,” he said.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp praised his team after the match.
“You have to be really focused, really concentrated. And on the other side because they don’t want the ball too much, you have to play around them and you have to keep them really busy, and the boys did that really, really well,” he said.
Liverpool will try to maintain their lead in their next fixture away to Crystal Palace at 12.30pm on Saturday, December 19.
Tottenham will need to win at White Hart Lane against Leicester City at 2.15pm on Sunday, December 20 to recover lost ground.
